


Unfortunate Fortunes

by sandorara



Series: The Dumpling Chronicles [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: M/M, Valentione's Day, extreme dorkery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 06:19:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17782184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandorara/pseuds/sandorara
Summary: In which G'yozah took X'rhun along to the Valentione's Day celebrations in Gridania and ended up regretting it.





	Unfortunate Fortunes

_"Ah, it seems you two have become pawns in one of Althyk's inscrutable plots. Thaliak is loath to entangle Himself in such a precarious situation, and any endeavours you have planned in Sharlayan will be steeped in danger. The only hopes to wrest free from Althyk's machinations is to rely on the aid of another. Go to La Noscea and make your devotions before the mark of the Spinner, so that Nymeia may improve your fate. For the time being however, it would be best to ensure each other's safety, avoiding dangerous situations entirely."_

_"Oh my. This is not good, not good at all. To be blunt, your luck has run out. Bring your fishing poles to the Black Shroud and wait out this spell of bad luck. It is most crucial you avoid any risky endeavours. But beware as well the fish that bite your lure. Not all taste the same and an unappetizing catch may make an already bad day worse. Still, there are some measures you can take to mitigate your misfortune. An outfit of bark brown may serve to keep the worst of it at bay."_

_"The cards say the relationship between you is... somewhat tepid. Your partner views you as a competent ally, but little more. Mayhap you have forgotten that there is more to a friendship than just nodding silently in agreement to each other. You grew up in the Shroud, correct? Sit down with your partner at Buscarron's Druthers, and over a bottle of two of your preferred libations, have a lively conversation and become well acquainted with each other."_

 

 

"I didn't think catching a fish would take this long," G'yozah sighed, thumbing the edge of his now bark brown sleeve. The dye job was shoddy, but it had been necessary. "Do you think we should move to the South Shroud? Since they also said we should have a drink at Buscarron's? Maybe we could--"

X'rhun just smiled, and _nodded_. The fortune tellers had been right!

The sun was high in the sky, and the breeze gentle through the green surroundings. There were birds chirping, and it was surprisingly warm for the First Umbral Moon. A pleasant day, perfect for what had been meant to be a small, silly romantic outing, just because.

Instead, G'yozah was now filled with dread and worry, and anxious to secure the future of their relationship and prove that he was more than just 'a capable ally' through whatever means the Twelve demanded.

Just because he'd thought it be fun. Because him and T'oast had gotten such perfect results, and yes-- They're best friend of course they would! What was it that T'oast sometimes mumbled? _Platonic soulmates!_ Of course the fortune tellers only had good things to say about them together! But G'yozah, full of faith and conviction and _love_ , had of course expected no less when he'd excitedly dragged X'rhun along to Gridania on Valentione's Day. The fortune's would be good and X'rhun would smile and his eyes would crinkle, and maybe they'd kiss a little, somewhere to the side.

Oh how wrong he'd been, how ignorant.

He'd never even cared about things like Valentione's day! And-- it had already been years since he first met X'rhun, Valentione's days had come and gone, why had he now, suddenly, decided to engage in it?

He sighed.

"We should talk, not just-- _nod_.

X'rhun chuckled quietly, and lifted his fishing rod, moving the bait further out into the stream. A fishing rod they'd just purchased at the Gridanian markets, to engage in a craft G'yozah had never even considered before.

"I'm sure we'll catch some soon," X'rhun said. "But I wouldn't mind that drink in Buscarron's either."

"I take that back, we need the fish first. Otherwise travelling to La Noscea will be too dangerous."

"We have travelled La Noscea together before, I remember," X'rhun looked at him. "It was no threat to us then."

"But Althyk wasn't plotting something against us then! That fortune teller said it would be dangerous-- but we have to go. And teleporting is out of the question!"

X'rhun laughed softly again, and he looked just too amused with the situation. As if G'yozah was the one insisting he needed to go to Gubal within the coming days! Anything Sharlayan was out of the question until all precautions had been made. If they didn't make it to the mark of the Spinner soon he'd have to--- somehow keep X'rhun from going. He did _know_ it was all probably just... silly and that he was being irrational but he just-- wanted to be _sure_. Just in case.

X'rhun's hand settled on his on the grass and squeezed softly, and G'yozah pulled his eyes away from his fishing rod to look at him.

"G'yozah, you're stronger than anything Althyk could throw at you. You've defeated countless primals."

"Not by myself," he said quickly. He'd done most of that with T'oast. "Not for a long time at least."

X'rhun lifted and turned his hand over, just enough to tangle their fingers togeteher and that was _nice_. Funny how being doomed to a horrible fate could lead to nice moments like these.

"You're not by yourself now either," X'rhun said. "I'd like to think I am still at my peak, myself." X'rhun laughed, and now those crinkles were there and how could that man still, after all this time, make whole armies of butterflies just burst into existence inside of G'yozah?

"You are--," he started, squeezing X'rhun's hand back. "I just don't want to risk anything. I don't want to lose you, no matter what fate says."

X'rhun raised an eyebrow, and smiled, before looking back out to their fishing rods, the floats close to each other, moving slightly in the small stream.

"We can travel south from here, through Eastern Thanalan out towards Horizon and Vesper Bay. That should be our shortest route to La Noscea from here. Unless of course, we take an airship from Gridania?"

"Can we just stay on the ground?," G'yozah asked quickly, not wanting to add any additional risks to their endeavours.

"Of course," X'rhun said with another smile. "I'm sure it will be a worthwhile journey, even if you do look a little ridiculous in that shade of brown."

G'yozah gaped for a moment, then looked down at his usually red gown, now unevenly brown, and sighed.

X'rhun chuckled again, and then nudged G'yozah's hand.

"I think you may have a fish on your hook," he said, and G'yozah started pulling right away. Finally!

There was indeed a fish, it was small, but it was still a fish. One disastrous fate avoided! Only two more to take care of. G'yozah grinned. Fate would not affect them.

"I don't think people pay for these on the market, or well, T'oast would know better but," G'yozah mumbled, inspecting his catch. "The task was fishing, nothing about what to do with the fish. Do you the Twelve would mind if I let him back in?"

"I think they would probably appreciate the kind gesture," X'rhun said, getting up and collapsing his own fishing rod. "And since we're headed south... Would you mind following their advice a bit more, and taking a break at Buscarron's?"

"Of course not!," G'yozah responded, just as the small fish slipped back into the stream, swimming away with only the trauma of being fished out remaining.

"Good." And then X'rhun grabbed his hand again, and started walking south, pulling G'yozah along, as if there was nothing odd with spending the entire day on these ventures to fight a horrible fate.

As if he didn't mind making sure they would be okay together.

"I love you," G'yozah blurted suddenly, and even though X'rhun was a little ahead of him, he could _feel_ the smile.

"I know. I love you too, G'yozah."

And maybe Althyk really didn't have any power over them after all.

**Author's Note:**

> What happens when you conveniently have a partner with a X'rhun alt to do the valentione's event with and the results are actually BAD.


End file.
